Melanoma arising in people affected by CMN is very difficult to treat. Based on knowledge of the genetics of CMN a drug has been used recently to try to treat melanoma in children, with some good effects, but it is usually not strong enough to reverse the melanoma completely. Other drugs are therefore needed to help treat this rare complication. Dr. Davide Zecchin has recently been awarded a grant from the charity Children with Cancer UK to continue to work in the Kinsler Lab to tackle the challenge by performing laboratory-based research. Dr. Zecchin previously acquired extensive laboratory experience in the study of other cancers, and in the design of new drug combinations to improve the treatment of tumours that are unresponsive to standard therapies. He now aims to study how CMN melanoma becomes resistant to existing therapies, and to identify better drugs or drug combinations. Although this project will be for three years in the laboratory, the aim is to identify treatments which could be used in patients after that time, subject to safety studies and all the normal approvals. This large grant from the charity Children with Cancer UK was obtained in a highly competitive application and is a fantastic injection of much needed funds into CMN research.